1933 Lyttelton by-election

This by-election came about because of the death of James McCombs who was Elizabeth McCombs's husband. He had held the electorate of Lyttelton since he won it in the Lyttelton by-election of 1913. He was therefore one of the earliest members of the Labour party to hold an electorate. He died of a heart attack on 2 August 1933. ==Candidates and selection process==

Labour Party Despite the electorate of Lyttelton being held by Labour or its predecessor the Social Democrats since 1913, the electorate was seen as marginal as it had been won by just 32 votes at the 1931 general election. However, the Labour Party were confident of retaining the electorate as they pledged reforms that would help those affected by the Great Depression. The Labour party chose to select Elizabeth McCombs who had previously been elected to the Christchurch City Council in 1921 and had stood for Labour in Kaiapoi and then Christchurch North in the 1928 and the 1931 respectively. McCombs was unanimously selected as the Labour party candidate. Nine other women had stood for parliament in New Zealand since they had been allowed to in 1919, while women gained the right to vote in 1893. Freeman was born in Christchurch in 1881 and educated locally. After a term of legal work, he trained as a surveyor and later became a civil engineer. He was a commissioner of the Waimakariri River Trust and an elected member of the Heathcote County Council. He had held leading positions with the Canterbury Automobile Association, the South Island Motor Union, and had been a director for an insurance company. At the time of the by-election, he was an executive member of the Canterbury Progress League, a councillor for the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Arthur's Pass National Park Board. He thus contested the by-election as an Independent. ==Election campaign==

McCombs's campaign was dominated by the fact that she was a woman. She chose to address this issue head on by using "Vote the first woman to the New Zealand Parliament" as her campaign slogan. Although it appears that the major newspapers had few worries about electing a woman, many people did. The leader of the Labour Party, Harry Holland, attended some of the campaign meetings in support of McCombs. and further that "I believe the difficulties of the country are too great for women to grapple with." The election campaign was also seen as important because of the Great Depression that New Zealand was experiencing and was viewed to be a referendum on the government's response. ==Results==

The results of the Lyttelton electorate at the 1931 general election were: Results of the by-election held on 13 September 1933 were: Elizabeth McCombs won 16 of the 23 polling places. ==Legacy==

"I am proud to be the first woman to be elected to our Parliament" McCombs said upon her victory. "It will be my endeavour to live up to the tradition the women of New Zealand have established for taking their full share of the burden of government." Despite heavy rain, this speech was delivered in front of 2000 supporters in Cathedral Square. Her electorate was taken over by her son Terry McCombs in the Lyttelton by-election of 1935. Elizabeth McCombs is still remembered today. New Zealand's first woman prime minister to gain her position at an election, Helen Clark, said: "Elizabeth McCombs made history when she was elected as New Zealand's first woman member of Parliament, New Zealand women had waited a long time for that day. Her election came 40 years after women gained the right to vote. As a Labour Prime Minister and leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, I am very proud of Elizabeth McCombs' historic first. I see it as one of many steps in the political progress of women in our country which made it possible for me to become leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister." While Ruth Dyson, who is the member of parliament for Port Hills, which includes the town of Lyttelton, said: "She cracked one of the many glass ceilings and laid the groundwork for women such as me to enter Parliament and represent our communities in a compassionate and intelligent manner. Let us all remember Elizabeth McCombs, for it is in her footsteps that many of us now tread." ==Notes==